I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Stanmore. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Stanmore - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

There are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Stanmore. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Stanmore.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Stanmore. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Stanmore should include some of the following:

• Defining your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the block.For example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?

Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?

Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the property, or having a home office for business

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Stanmore please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Stanmore

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Stanmore from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stanmore can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Stanmore levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stanmore.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Stanmore state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.

Some Stanmore leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £225000 flat in Stanmore in six days. The management company has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Stanmore?

Stanmore conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily necessitates administration charges levied by landlords agents :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Stanmore
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Stanmore leasehold property is £350. For Stanmore conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

Having spent months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Stanmore. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Stanmore flat is 27B Hillside in February 2010. the resulting premium, all other aspects of the valuation having been agreed between the parties was set at £8,250 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 70.25 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Stanmore